


Strawberry Waffles

by melodicSiren



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Friendship, Multi, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2014-04-26
Packaged: 2018-01-20 21:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1526879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodicSiren/pseuds/melodicSiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Doc's having a bad day. Someone comes back to help. <br/>O'MalDoc fluff</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strawberry Waffles

Doc sat alone, off near the walls of the latest box canyon the group found themselves in.  Everyone was off with their own teams, leaving the medic on the outskirts watching them all interact and feeling more than a little lonely. He wasn’t a red or a blue, he was a pacifist. He didn’t really feel like he fit in with the others. More often than not he found himself on his own, everyone else doing what they do.  He had taken to retreating to a small cavern in the side of the canyon wall, near the centre between the two bases. He wouldn’t leave- he may not feel like he fit in with the two teams, but he still cared about their well-being and he was the only medic they had. Sometimes though, and more often recently, he found his mood sinking every time he was alone with his thoughts. That moment was no exception as he buried his head between his knees, helmet clanking against the metal armor.

“I miss you O’Malley….” He mumbled softly. At least the aggressive AI had talked with him, tried to learn how to make compromises and basically gave him the time of day.

Click. _Password accepted. Commencing back-up recovery._

                Doc jerked up, back slamming into the wall behind him at the sudden automated voice from his helmet’s sound system. Alarm jolted through his system as the small ding that signaled the end of a file upload rang in his ears. The back of his mind prickled as the familiar presence groggily booted up within his consciousness.

 _Hello Doc,_ the AI greeted. He attempted to sound menacing, but instead it came out slurred, not yet being fully aware. He was hastily dragged out of his stupor by the sudden flood of emotions from his medic. Shock, joy, relief, followed quickly by fear and something else that stung that he didn’t have time to place, because just as suddenly he was completely cut off from DuFresne’s thoughts. He could still take control of his body if he wanted, but he couldn’t feel anything from him. None of the medic’s usual pleasantries or nervousness could be felt through whatever barrier he had set around himself. O’Malley was totally baffled. What happened to all of a sudden cause such a change? Speaking of change, where were they? This didn’t look like their base. He cast around for information in the helmet’s network, finding the answers almost immediately in the form of his open back-up file. Oooh… Oh. He must have left the medic. (And gotten into trouble too it seemed, since the back-up file wouldn’t run if the original was still functioning).  That was the emotion he hadn’t been able to place from Dufresne- betrayal. He scoffed to himself. How like his stupid host to get miffed over something so insignificant.

_…….hm…._

                Doc had gotten up on his own when it started getting dark, making his way back to the blue base, where he currently slept. He spoke with the team members when he passed by, who responded in kind, albeit distractedly since Caboose seemed determined to get Tucker and Wash involved in some game or another. O’malley watched from the back of his mind with interest. His host wasn’t acting quite like himself, and he was still locked out of his thoughts. It felt rather… empty, without him there. Bah, no matter. He could still take control whenever he wanted and once again start his mission to take over the universe! ….The claim felt hollow; but he didn’t dwell on it, allowing himself to get lost in the thoughts of legions of humans and aliens alike bowing before him.

 The medic crawled into bed after changing out of his amour and into his night clothes. As he fell asleep, O’Malley could feel the barriers around his mind weaken, allowing him to get glimpses of what was going through his thoughts and dreams. He could have ignored it, should have simply kept to himself and plotted his rise to power, but he couldn’t seem to stop the swell of curiosity that led him to peek into DuFresne’s flickering thoughts.  It was chaotic, as dreams usually are, but the images of empty rooms and the absolute sense of being lost spoke volumes. The AI slunk back to the deeper recesses of his host’s mind, unable to hold back his flinch when the human released a sharp feeling of loneliness in his dreams.  He settled into an uneasy shutdown of his own, figuring things might improve in the morning.

O’Malley was the first to waken, coming back online in a sudden rush that left him feeling disoriented. The medic’s mind remained in a fitful state of REM, punctuated with jolts of emotion. The AI huffed at his host’s laziness, but left him to his rest, gently taking control of their body and getting up on his own. The base was silent, everyone else still asleep while O’Malley prowled about the halls, learning his way around their new home and finding his way to the kitchen.

                An idea struck him, and he acted on it without pausing to really think about it. He cast around Doc’s mind, eventually finding what he was looking for. Quickly he began pulling things out of the cupboards and set off to make the medic’s favourite breakfast for them both. Somewhere in the back of his own thoughts the AI hoped to pacify his host, to try and get back the one person who seemed to want him around. He also found that it was enjoyable to do something menial for himself and DuFresne, and when the food was set on the table he was surprised to find himself a bit excited for Doc to wake with breakfast waiting for him.

                Of course nothing could go right for him when the red and blues were involved. Wash and Caboose had chosen that moment to walk into the kitchen/dining room, the former freelancer tugging his sleepy charge by the hand. He stopped short at the sight of the medic glaring daggers at him from across the table, thought the expression lost a bit of its strength with the strawberry waffles still steaming in front of him. O’Malley took a breath, stealing himself. If he was going to try and make things up with his host, he was going to have to try and be civil to his host’s friends.

“ _Good morning Agent Washington_ , _Caboose”_

“Hello O’Malley!” Caboose responded happily, waving, even as Wash’s grip on his other hand tightened.

“Omega…” Wash hissed, tugging the younger soldier slightly behind him, dropping into a more defensive stance. “What are you doing here- How are you here? You were deleted in the EMP blast!” By the end of his questioning the greying blond was starting to sound a bit hysterical, volume raising enough to wake up the medic. O’Malley pulled back, allowing his host to take control of the situation that seemed to be growing dangerous.

Doc blinked into awareness, confused to find himself at the table instead of in his bed. Wash was in front of him, glaring like he had just seen a particularly hateful ghost. It took him a moment to remember yesterday’s events, and he opened his mouth to ask what the AI had done now, when he looked down. Strawberry waffles, his favourite… but he’d never told anyone- oh. O’Malley. Of course the AI would know… He felt a quiet pulse of satisfaction from the back of his mind, and the slight pressure of questioning. He allowed his walls to fall, responding to the silent query with positive pulse of his own. With the barriers down, the AI was able to feel his entire host again; and though it was healing, the betrayal was still there. It would take a while for the medic to trust him again. That was fine, he could wait. Wash however, was getting more and more irritated with their silence, something Doc was quick to pick up on.

The medic raised a hand calmly, trying to show the gruff man that he was ok. Caboose stood behind him, confused as to why Agent Washingtub was trying to squish his hand. He tugged slightly to try and get free, with no success and no response.

“Wash, please” he started, but was quickly cut off

“No! How long has he been back, HOW is he back!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” His protective grip on Caboose tightened again with his stress, becoming painful and pulling a whimper from the childish man. Suddenly Doc felt himself shoved aside, O’Malley standing quickly, barking out a vicious _HEY!_ The AI marched around the table, grabbing Wash’s arm and pulling him off Caboose, who quickly took back his hand, looking between them frightfully. O’Malley scowled at the older soldier; Caboose wasn’t his host anymore, but that didn’t mean the thick boy didn’t still stir up a feeling of protectiveness in him- he was just so defenceless and sweetly naïve. It sickened him, but he also knew it wasn’t bound to change.

                Wash backed off with a sigh, shifting to lean against the kitchen counter, head in his hand.

“How are you back Omega?” he questioned again, calmer this time. He offered Caboose and apologetic look and got a grin and a hug in return.

“ _O’Malley_ ”

“What?”

“ _My name is O’Malley_.” Doc stayed back and watched the proceedings, nervous but hopeful that things would turn out better than they had the last time. Wash blinked in surprise, but went with the change, nodding in understanding.

“Alright, O’Malley then. How are you here? You died. I’m sure of it.” The AI moved back to the table, sitting down again in front of Doc’s breakfast.

“ _Yes, I’m sure I did. Right now though, Doc’s food is getting cold. Can we discuss this later?”_

“Fine. But as soon as we’re all done eating, you’re going to answer some questions.”

 _“Of course”_ O’Malley responded smoothly, _“But if any of you ever hurts my host again, I will not hesitate to slaughter you all, muahaha…”_

“O’Malley!” Doc chastised from within as well, offering him a stern sense of exasperation, though he was flattered by the care shown for him. Wash groaned, head in his hand again, wondering desperately just what he had gotten himself into.

 


End file.
